Ever find yourself correctly guessing the year a home was built solely on the design choices made by the owner and the designer? From oft-repeated paint colors to ubiquitous materials, spotting the same design trends over and over can make building or remodeling a home feel a little boring. Find ways to personalize your home and infuse creativity into your design in three simple steps that don’t hurt your budget.

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*Start from the beginning: Communicate closely with your architect or designer before starting construction and make your home unique before building even begins. Vision boards, (whether created online or by collecting images that reflect your style,) can help architects, builders, and designers identify the architecture types and color schemes that take a vision boards from inspiration to reality. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to collect ideas from a variety of styles or themes. It’s your job to discover what you love, and a good designer will help you incorporate your finds cohesively.*Incorporate your passions: Make your new home yours by focusing your budget and square-footage on areas that reflect the things that make you happiest. Love cooking? Work with your architect to create a dream kitchen with plenty of room to experiment. Feel inspired by your new home’s abundance of natural light? Turn a loft space into an airy art studio. Whether you make space for an in-house gym or fill the living room with built-in book shelves, personalizing your home means making space for things that bring you joy.*Add color and texture: If you’re working with pre-made home plans, you can still find inexpensive ways to make your new place feel like you. Painting accent walls in your favorite colors is a great start, but get creative and add paint to a few unorthodox accents spots as well— like interior doors, kitchen cabinets, or bedroom window panes. Use bold wallpaper with unique patterns in small doses (think bathrooms, laundry rooms, or hallways,) and you’ll take your home from builder-grade to boutique design without breaking the budget.Need help customizing and personalizing your home? Contact us today and we’ll help you meet the perfect architect, builder, interior designer, or contractor that can help ensure that your new house truly feels like home. From custom-made architectural plans to interior design consulting, let Home Planning Hawaii be your guide to all things home.